Notes

n.1Stablein 1976, p. 5. Here, Stablein is citing Lessing and Wayman, trans. 1968, p. 123.

n.2’jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas, karma rang byung kun khyab, folios 8.a–8.b. Tibetan: rgyud ’di rgyud ’bul phal che ba na yod/ bla ma snga ma rnams kyi rgyud sde spyi’i rnam zhag dkar chag phal che ba bya rgyud du byas/ de yang rgyud gsung ba po rta mgrin yin pa dang / de spyan ras [F.8.b] gzigs kyi rigs yin pa la bsam nas pad+ma’i rigs kyi rgyud kyi nang du bgrang bar byed do.

n.3Following D: de’i tshe. S does not include this.

n.4Following N, H, and S: dur khrod ha ha drag tu rgod pa’i gnas nas. D: dur khrod ha ha drag tu rgod pa’i gnas.

n.5Following D and S: dri spos khrag gis chag chag bya. This translation is tentative. It is entirely possible that this phrase should simply be translated as “perfume, incense, and blood,” as it is here. However, it seems more likely that the first two members of the Tibetan compound dri spos khrag would also refer to bodily substances or their substitutes. The Tibetan dri may be a shortened form of dri ma, which can refer to any bodily excretion or excrement. The term spos might be translated here as “sulphur” (Skt. gandha), a coded term commonly used for either vaginal secretion or, in the case of mercury sulfide, an alchemical preparation that corresponds to the combined male and female sexual fluids in Buddhist and, particularly, Śaiva tantric and alchemical literature.

n.6Following D and S: de dbus thod chen nang du ni. The Tibetan thod chen literally translates as “a large skull” but might also be interpreted as a coded term for “a human skull.” Given the size of the bali offering it contains here, the former is more likely the primary reading.

n.7Following D and S: ldo yi nang du bla rdos dril. This translation is tentative. Here it is assumed that the mantra is rolled with a “soul stone” (bla rdo), and then placed inside the bali offering. The Tibetan ldo yi nang du might be amended here to lto yi nang du, which would translate “inside the abdomen,” and could refer to placing the soul stone wrapped in a life force mantra inside an effigy of some sort.

n.8Following D and S: drag po e yi nang du ni. The literal translation of this line is “inside of a fierce e.” This refers to the fact that the Sanskrit syllable e is depicted as a triangle in a number of Sanskrit scripts.

n.9Following Y, K, N, C, H, and S: rtag gtor rgyun gtor g.yas dang g.yon. D: rta gtor rgyun gtor g.yas dang g.yon.

n.10D: k+She tra ya big+h+nAn. S: k+She tra big+h+nAM. This transliteration is amended based on the way this mantra has been rendered previously in the Degé Kangyur, which is confirmed by the transliteration in the Stok Palace Kangyur.

n.11Following N, H, and S: ma hA kA lA ya. D: ma hA kA la ya. The reading in the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs reflects the correct Sanskrit declension.

n.12D: shA sa na u pa ka ri Ni. S: shA sa na u pa ha ri Ni. This transliteration amends the reading in the Degé Kangyur to reflect the correct vowel sandhi and spelling of this compound.

n.13D: pra ti dz+nyA. S: prati dzraM. This transliteration amends the reading in the Degé Kangyur to the correct Sanskrit declension.

n.14Following S: bi la sa. D: pi las. This transliteration amends the reading in the Stok Palace Kangyur to the correct Sanskrit spelling.

n.15D and S: gru gsum dbus su gdug pa’i shing. This translation amends the reading in the Tibetan witnesses to bdug pa’i shing, which is an attested translation of the Sanskrit dhūpavṛkṣa. The literal reading of gdug pa’i shing translates as “poisonous wood,” though the Negi dictionary also notes that the spelling gdug pa is attested as a synonym (or perhaps scribal error) for bdug pa and is an attested translation of the Sanskrit term dhūpa.

n.16D and S: spyi tshar dag tu lding du gzhug. This translation is tentative. The phrase spyi tshar dag tu is relatively obscure. In this translation, the term tshar is read as tshar rgyug, which can refer to any switch of bendable wood made from a young tree branch or shoot.

n.17D: phaT hUM hUM ka ya nA vi nA n g+ha vi tra kShe kShiM la kA hA ma badz+ra oM. This is the reverse recitation of the Mahākāla mantra oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ. The vowel and consonant order have been altered here somewhat to properly transliterate this reverse mantra using an English alphabet system.

n.18Following N, H, and S: mi nag dag la snying stobs dang. D: mi nag bdag la snying stobs dang.

n.19D and S: gsang sngags ’di yis gnad la bor. The antecedent to the pronoun “their” is not clear here, but it most likely refers to one or all of the beings that have been inscribed in the mantra wheel.

n.20D and S: khroM shar hril bh+yo. This transliteration is tentative.

n.21The text does not provide a title for this chapter.